The 10% Goal

So… you’ve made the decision to lose those excess kilos only to find yourself standing on the scales… and you realize you have a long way to go. If you have a lot of weight to lose, it can feel very overwhelming to look at the total amount you need to lose. If losing a total of 50kgs seems impossible to accomplish, break it up into smaller, more achievable goals.

If you don’t know where to begin or this is your first attempt to lose weight, make your first goal to lose 10 percent of your current weight. For example, if you weigh 150kgs your initial goal would be to lose 15kgs. 15kgs seems more achievable than the 80kgs you need to reach your ultimate goal.

By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you will gain many health benefits, such as:

* reduced blood pressure

* lower cholesterol

* reduced risk of diabetes

* noticeable difference in clothing size

According to research conducted by Medicine Australia, losing 10 percent of your excess weight can result in a 5-10 percent lowering of high blood pressure which could be enough to lead to the reducing the need for blood pressure medicine and, in some cases, medication is no longer needed. As a side-effect to lower blood pressure, ‘bad’ cholesterol levels can also drop. By reducing your blood pressure and ‘bad’ cholesterol levels, you lower your risk of heart disease.

One of the main risk factors of Type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese. Diabetes can lead to eye and kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease and stroke. By losing 10 percent of your excess weight accompanied with regular physical activity can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by up to 58 percent.

Being able to fit into smaller clothing sizes is a great boost to the self-esteem for anyone. For those who are overweight it can help you to realize that you are actually achieving your goals, even if there isn’t much difference on the scales. It is important to remember that the number on the scale isn’t the only measure of your success. It can be very disheartening when it seems like the scales aren’t moving, by using other guides to your weight loss such as a smaller dress size, it can help to keep you focused when you feel you aren’t accomplishing anything.

Once you begin to lose weight and reach your mini goals, such as the 10% goal, you will begin to feel more confident towards yourself and about continuing on your weight loss journey. Your attitude will begin to change and you will find it easier to resist ‘temptations’ and to exercise regularly.

Unsure what to do after you have reached your 10% goal or want more of a challenge then a 5kg goal? Feel free to set yourself another 10% goal based on your current weight and so on, until you reach your goal weight.

There are no rules when it comes to goal setting. As long as your goals are realistic, then there is nothing stopping you from reaching them. Remember to use healthy eating and exercise to reach and maintain your weight loss goals and you can’t go wrong. Your weight loss plan should be a plan you can follow for the rest of your life by making small changes that you can build upon as your reach your goals.

If you would like a more in-depth look at Goal Setting in Weight Loss, please feel free to check out my other articles.

Chyna Dolores is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Writers. You can veiw her personal work at http://www.chynadolores.com.

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